Know Your School Catchment Odds Before You Apply
Exact door-to-school-gate straight-line distance calculations, 5-year National Allocation Day cut-off benchmarks, and probability dossiers based on official Department for Education records.
Straight-line door-to-gate calculation via free DfE Ordnance Survey baseline.
32,000+
UK Schools Indexed
±1 Meter
Door-to-Gate Precision
5-Year
Historical Allocation Trends
100%
Open Gov Licence v3.0
Popular School Catchment Cut-offs
Camden School for Girls
Camden • Academy
The Henrietta Barnett School
Barnet • Academy
Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet
Barnet • Academy
The Grey Coat Hospital
Westminster • Academy
St Marylebone CE School
Westminster • Academy
Fox Primary School
Kensington and Chelsea • Community
Tiffin School
Kingston upon Thames • Academy
Tiffin Girls' School
Kingston upon Thames • Academy
How Distance Determines School Offers
Every autumn, over 1.2 million UK parents submit their Common Application Form (CAF). Here is why straight-line distance is the decisive tie-breaker.
The Equal Preference Rule
Councils cannot give preference simply because you placed a school first. Every school evaluates applicants solely against its published admission criteria (statutory needs, siblings, and straight-line distance).
Straight-Line Gate Measurement
Councils measure from your front door directly to the school gate as the crow flies (Haversine formula using Ordnance Survey coordinates). Driving routes and walking paths are ignored.
Preventing Fallback Assignment
If you fail to qualify on distance for all your listed preferences, councils assign your child to an undesirable fallback school with spare capacity. CatchmentScore guarantees you include a realistic safety anchor.
Choose Your Admissions Dossier
No subscriptions. Instant download. Official 8-page verifiable reports powered by Department for Education datasets.
Individual School Admissions Probability Dossier
Complete diagnostic analysis for 1 chosen school before submitting your CAF.
- Exact door-to-gate straight-line distance in meters & miles
- 5-Year historic maximum distance offered cut-offs
- Safe / Borderline / High Risk probability rating
- Sibling priority PAN compression breakdown
- Statutory Admissions Appeal evidence checklist
4-School Preference Strategy Pack
Evaluates all 4 preferred choices on your Common Application Form to eliminate fallback risk.
- Everything in Single Dossier for up to 4 preferred schools
- Equal Preference System order optimization
- Safety Anchor school guarantee identification
- Comprehensive comparative strategy report
- Saves £42 vs individual reports
Admissions FAQ
How is school catchment distance measured in the UK?
UK Local Authorities calculate straight-line distance (as the crow flies) from the Ordnance Survey AddressBase coordinate of your home front door to the school gate entrance point specified in the admission policy. Driving routes and walking paths are not used.
Does listing a school as my first preference increase my distance radius?
No. Under the UK Equal Preference System, schools do not know your preference ranking. Distance cutoffs apply equally regardless of whether you ranked the school 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th.
What happens if I miss the catchment cut-off distance?
If the school is oversubscribed and your home distance exceeds the last distance offered, you will be placed on the school's statutory waiting list according to oversubscription criteria. You also acquire an immediate statutory right of appeal to an Independent Appeal Panel.
How do Grammar and Faith schools handle distance?
For selective Grammar schools, distance functions as a secondary tie-breaker after 11+ entrance exam pass marks. For faith schools, straight-line distance is applied within faith adherence criteria bands. CatchmentScore explicitly flags these rules.